Erlang Programming

Robust Systems

In Erlang, you build robust systems by layering. Using processes, you create a tree in which the leaves consist of the application layer that handles the operational tasks while the interior nodes monitor the leaves and other nodes below them, as shown in Figure 6-8. Processes at any level will trap errors occurring at a level immediately below them. A process whose only task is to supervise children—in our case the nodes of the tree—is called a supervisor. A leaf process performing operational tasks is called a worker. When we refer to child processes, we mean both supervisors and workers belonging to a particular supervisor.

In well-designed systems, application programmers will not have to worry about error-handling code. If a worker crashes, the exit signal is sent to its supervisor, which isolates it from the higher levels of the system. Based on a set of preconfigured parameters and the reason for termination, the supervisor will decide whether the worker should be restarted.

Supervisors aren’t the only processes that might want to monitor other processes, however. If a process has a dependency on another process that is not necessarily its child, it will want to link itself to it. Upon abnormal termination, both processes can take appropriate action.

Figure 6-8. Fault tolerance by layering

In large Erlang systems, you should never allow processes that are not part ...